The Order - 09/05

From Hollywood.com

Synopsis: For centuries a secret Order has existed within the Church. Following a series of unexplained murders, renegade priest Father Alex Bernier begins an investigation that hurls him into a maelstrom of unimaginable evil, murder and the knowledge that there is a fate worse than death. Father Bernier's search takes him to The Sin Eater--a key figure in this mysterious and ancient Order. The immortal Sin Eater's role is nothing less than playing God on earth by absolving the unforgiveable of their sins outside the Church, allowing greater evil to go unpunished. Burdened by centuries of evil, the Sin Eater craves the luxury of death. But who will eat his sins and grant eternal peace? Who will carry on his dark tradition and continue the work of the Order? As the young priest uncovers the answers and pursues these paragons of evil, he fights to save his own soul and that of troubled artist Mara, the woman he loves.

I have a feeling they realized the name might put some people off. "The Order" does sound a little more socially acceptable, doesn't it!

Originally Posted by Rottentomatoes.com

Seven years ago, writer/director Brian Helgeland came across the term "Sin Eater" – a person who would take in the sins of a deceased person. The sin eating ritual, Helgeland learned, involved placing salt and bread on the deceased, reciting an incarnation, and then consuming the salt and bread – thereby the sins – into the Sin Eater's soul.

The concept caught Helgeland's attention, and he became fascinated with the implications and ramifications of eating sins. "The Sin Eater originated during medieval times when the Catholic Church was extremely powerful," Helgeland explains. "If you were dying and had been excommunicated and couldn't receive last rites, they would send for a Sin Eater, whom they believed would absolve the sins of that person. He would take the sins right into his soul."...

...Helgeland looked to prominent German actor Benno Fürmann to take on the role of The Sin Eater. The director remembers, "Almost as soon as Benno appeared on screen in ‘The Princess and the Warrior,' which I had the good fortune to watch at just the right time, I knew he was our Sin Eater. There was no question. It is so extremely rare for an actor to fully parallel a writer's imagination of a character. But it was all there in Benno's incredible eyes." Fürmann says of Eden, "When he became a Sin Eater centuries ago, he had the purest of intentions. But Eden's soul and his coffers became bloated by consuming the depravity and riches of the dying, and carnal knowledge of their horrendous behavior. Somewhere through the ages, it all went terribly wrong."

When you're ten years old and a car drives by and splashes a puddle of water all over you, it's hard to decide if you should go to school like that or try to go home and change and probably be late. So while he was trying to decide, I drove by and splashed him again. - Jack Handey